The morning did not start the way any of us had expected or hoped.

I wasn’t sleeping when the War Horns were sounded across Ildanach in the wee hours of the morning, before dawn, but I still startled when I heard them and rolled out of bed. I stomped my feet into my less excessively difficult black boots– although they also weren’t as comfortable or containing as many places to conceal daggers and lockpicks, unfortunately– fit my mask to my face, threw on my coat, swords, and rifle, and then left the inn via the window so as not to disturb Berd any more than the sirens had.

Ildanach was quiet in the morning mist, silent and foggy, almost like a blurred dream. I headed towards the gate and climbed the steep stone steps up to the wall.

The watchmen whirled on me with guns raised, but they recognized me soon enough, even in the fog, and lowered their weapons.

“What’s going on?”

“There’s an Aeron procession approaching. Their outrider arrived minutes ago.”

“Aeron? But they’re neutral. Why would they be aggressing?”

“Not sure that they are, Captain,” the other guard said. “That looks like a white flag to me.”

I frowned, squinting at the procession of soldiers as they rode up towards our gate along the main path. It was a very broad path through the forest that surrounded the city, yet it seemed so narrow when looking at it from the perspective of military vehicles. They could only fit two, relatively slim, skiffs side by side on the path, making the procession much longer than it probably had been in the open plains.

There was indeed a white flag raised along with Aeron’s insignia of a green field through which flowed a blood-stained river, but there was another flag and emblem mixed in among the Aeron flags. The other flag was white, yes, but not unmarked– it was a white flag with an unconnected hexagon, the points of the shape dotted with six red circles, probably about five centimeters in diameter each. It was the symbol of the Chantry.

I was not afraid of the Church. I had faced much worse things than what the Chantry could do to me. But, I still felt a cold chill settle in my heart when I looked on those flags, and not just for myself and what they could take from me.

I shook my head slightly, brushing aside those thoughts.

Why was Aeron here under a flag of truce? Why was the Chantry accompanying them? Something big was happening, and I had no way of knowing until they arrived.

Waiting was always the most torturous part of any job.

Before they had reached the gates, Hector had joined me on the parapet, looking out as they approached at a slow, steady, and leisurely pace while the light of the dawn sun began to creep over the eastern horizon.

“Is that… Aeron? And the church?”

“Yeah.”

“What in the abyss…?”

“No idea.”

So we stood in silence.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity, the front of the procession reached the gates.

“Halt! State your business in Ildanach lands!” one of the guards at the top of the gate shouted over the eerily silent hovercrafts and forest in the early morning light.

“I am Ambassador Cathain of the House Aeron,” one of the men said, standing up in his skiff and using a voice projector to amplify his words rather than just shouting. “We are here to discuss negotiation terms.”

“Aeron and Ildanach have no history of war, nor has Ildanach aggressed,” I called out, going up to stand next to the Ildanach guard who was clearly relieved to have someone else take the spotlight and handle this delicate situation. Hector looked a bit nervous that that person was me. “What negotiations?”

“Aeron House has been propositioned by several of our neighbors to join the fight against Ildanach in exchange for spoils. We are here to discuss what Ildanach might have to say on the subject.”

Aeron’s military force wasn’t entirely known due to their nearly constant stance of neutrality; some said it had to be weak from lack of use, some claimed that they were likely to be the most rested and trained of all the troops due to the time allotted to them to do it. The truth probably lay somewhere in the middle, but, either way, introducing an unknown to the mix was never an advisable idea when it could be avoided.

Even if I were sure that I could take them.

I looked around briefly, but there was no general on the parapet, no emissary directly from the Highlord, not even a Guildmaster. As Captains, Hector and I were the highest ranking officers present, and I knew it would be considered a horrible slight to leave them standing outside of the doors waiting for someone with the authority to come let them in, when I was right here.

“Hector,” I called him up softly.

He arrived.

“Go to Lord Ennis’ Manor. I’m sure he’s awake from the sirens. Get him to come to the wall. It will be a lot harder for us to get in trouble for handling this ourselves if we also had the support of a Guildmaster.”

Hector arched an eyebrow at me. “Since when do you care about not getting in trouble?”

My protesting back was certainly one reason, though we both knew that alone wouldn’t make a difference to me. “Since it reflects badly on others,” I said simply, thinking of my team that I had pulled out of the dungeons, of Hector’s standing, and Lord Ennis’ too, who was starting to stake a bit of his reputation on my performance simply from his proximity to me.

Hector clapped me on the shoulder and then ran off to do as I had asked.

I turned back to the impatiently waiting Aeron Emissary. “And what of the Chantry?” I called down to them, raising my voice to audible levels once more. “Have you an allegiance with Aeron?”

It would be an unprecedented slight to the balance of the Territories if that were the case, but it was difficult to think of another reason for the Chantry flags mixed in among those of the Aeron House.

“Not at all,” a new voice said, and another man stood on one of the Church skiffs. “My name is High Inquisitor Dahl.”

The cold chill that had been running down my spine settled into a pit of dread right in my gut as I looked into the cold eyes of a man who most assuredly wanted me dead, whose primary job was to hunt down heretics such as myself and rogue Surgebinders.

Dahl was a broad man, outfitted in traditional plate mail marked with the blood red insignia of the Chantry. The seams had violet energy crackling in them on occasion– a subtle effect, but marking his apparently “traditional” plate armor as being infused with the performance enhancing riftslivers mined near the Chantry’s Capital City of Isaria. He had brown hair cut short in a military style and the blue eyes of the north that were colder than ice.

“We met on the road, both of us coming to Ildanach for our own purposes,” Dahl continued, meeting my gaze evenly, though it felt that he were seeing my mask far more than my face. “We simply combined camps on the road for both of our ease. It is a long journey from Isaria.”

“I see. And may I inquire as to the High Inquisitor’s business in Ildanach? What have we done to warrant the presence of an officer of the Chantry such as yourself?”

Dahl smiled slightly, though it didn’t even come close to touching his eyes. He looked at me pointedly for a moment as though I should be vividly aware of the answer to my own question before saying something that surprised me, “The Bishop here has done some exceptionally good work in recent days for the Cardinal and his interests. I am here to speak with him of commendation.”

Huh.

I noticed a raven flying high above their heads and tried not to glare at it too much, though I did wonder what Teris was doing. They already thought I was a horrible heretic; the last thing I needed was for them to pick up on the rumors that II was in some kind of dark bargain with the Goddess of Death.

I was beginning to run out of things with which to stall, but, fortunately, Hector was fast, and Lord Ennis was prompt. I could see him approaching now; they would arrive in seconds.

“May I inquire as to your rank?” Dahl called up at me, and I barely didn’t sigh.

“I would have preferred you hadn’t,” I said honestly, offering a rueful smile. Perhaps not the best tactic with a man such as the Inquisitor, but either it would work or it wouldn’t. It was hard to imagine it would make him hate me more. “I’m a Captain, Lord Inquisitor. The outrider reached us a very short time ago; I was one of the only officers who could make it to the wall before your arrival.”

Dahl hummed softly, and then Lord Ennis was there, stepping up beside me.

“Captain,” he greeted.

“Guildmaster,” I said, taking a slight step back.

“Only a Captain,” Ambassador Cathain called after me, even though I had been about to remove myself from the situation as best I could, “yet I think I have heard of you. Are you not the one they call the Lion of Ildanach? The… Hand of Cyren?” His lips twitched, clearly recognizing the irony of that title.

I didn’t see a point in denying it, even if I could have squirmed my way out without directly lying. “That’s me,” I agreed. “I am just a Captain though.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

The Ambassador hummed, but he had a hint of a smile on his face that I did not much like. That man was a weasel.

“I am Guildmaster Ennis of the Transportation Guild,” Terrance declared, stepping up in front of me towards the edge of the wall and the visitors.

“High Inquisitor Armond Dahl,” the Inquisitor said, though his eyes barely flickered to Ennis before returning to me. Lovely.

“Ambassador Elrick Cathain of the Aeron House, come to speak to Highlord Rufais on behalf of negotiations over our continued neutrality.”

“I apologize for keeping you waiting then, Ambassador, High Inquisitor. Guards,” Ennis ordered, the watchmen immediately standing at attention, “open the gate, on my orders.”

The guards immediately went to disengage the security of the gates and allow the portcullis to lift directly up through a slot in the stone archway above it. Ennis and I got out of the way, scooting off to the side, as the lavasliver mechanics did their work.

“Thank you,” I told Ennis.

“Why is the Inquisitor here?” Terrance asked me, sounding deeply alarmed.

“He says to reward the Bishop of our Grand Cathedral.”

“They wouldn’t send the Inquisitor for that. Would they?”

“I would imagine they’re also not too keen on their bastion of faith having a new hero who wears a mask,” I pointed out wryly, with far more levity than I felt.

“You should keep your head down.”

“I feel like it might be a little late,” I said with a slight sigh, “but I’ll do my best.”

Ennis nodded and then descended down the rest of the steps to once again greet the entourage and join them in escorting them up to the Central Courtyard.

“What do we do now?” Hector asked, rejoining me on the steps up to the wall as I watched.

“I’m heading back to my inn to grab the rest of the things I didn’t take the time to put on this morning. Then we head to the Central Court like everyone else to see as much as we’re permitted of what’s going on. And then.” I sighed. “Then, we’ll see.”

Hector nodded. “In that case, I’m headed straight to the Court. I’ll see you there.”

“See you,” I echoed. I watched the procession for a bit longer, and Hector’s form disappearing into alleys so that he didn’t get in their way, before vaulting off of the stone steps and heading towards my inn.

I entered using the door and was surprised to find someone using the lounge area; it was not often occupied this early. And then I noticed who it was.

“Leon,” Ms. Norel said, standing from the table at which she appeared to be eating some kind of stew for breakfast. I wondered if Berd had charged her for it.

When he arched an eyebrow at me from behind the bar, I had a feeling he probably hadn’t.

“Ms. Norel,” I said, caught off guard by both her presence and enthusiastic greeting, not to mention still slightly wrongfooted from the whole morning. “Good morning.”

She blushed and then curtseyed, apparently having forgotten her manners in her enthusiasm to see me. I thought it strange until I realized I was probably the only person she knew at all in the city. “Good morning.” And then she noticed the way I was dressed, frowning as her gaze went from my boots and then all the way back up to my face. “You’re… not in Peacekeeper uniform.”

“It’s my day job,” I said casually. I’d been wearing basically the same things when I’d met her, minus the sniper rifle and adding the Peacekeeper Signet, but I’d probably also looked a bit more formal. Keeper Ialdi didn’t like it when I looked like my normal self, hair all ruffled and posture relaxed, so I did try to look like a professional when I was on the job. “It’s not really day yet.”

“The sirens woke me,” she said slowly, still looking at me oddly. “Do you know what they were about? Is someone attacking?”

“Not exactly. Aeron Ambassador is here to negotiate terms for them to stay neutral.”

“They’ve been tempted to do otherwise?” Berd said in surprise.

I turned to look at him and shrugged. “Someone must be offering them something good.”

“I’m sure it was nothing the Lion of Ildanach couldn’t hand–” Berd started to tease me, and he caught my head-shaking a bit too late.

Avaline was now staring at me like I had turned into an actual lion in front of her. “You? You’re the Lion of Ildanach? The Hand of Cyren?”

I paused and sighed, shrugging. “Maaaaybe?”

She stammered a bit, clearly embarrassed about what she had said about me, to me. “Why didn’t you say something?”

“Because you weren’t looking for a soldier. You were looking for a Peacekeeper,” I said simply. “Listen, I know I said I would help you find look for a job of some kind today, but with this stuff going on…” I paused, thinking. “I don’t know what today is going to look like, and I need to head for the Central Court as soon as possible.”

“Oh, that’s. It’s fine,” Ava said, and she sounded like she was surprised I even remembered I had said it. “You’re the Lion of Ildanach, I’m sure you have many more important–”

“Ava,” I cut her off gently, and she looked at me in surprise at the unprompted nickname. “I’m Leon. That other crap is just stuff that people decided to call me because they want to feel like they have an indestructible mascot fighting wars for them. I’m happy to provide some security, but the mascot isn’t who I am. Anyway, I am sorry that I won’t be able to live up to my word today. I will be happy to pay for your lodgings tonight to make up for the extra wait and then take you around the city tomorrow, assuming nothing more unexpected comes up in the way of city affairs. I hope you will forgive me.”

Her lips twitched at my formality and then she shook her head slightly in mild exasperation before speaking. “You’re forgiven. And I expect you to live up to your word tomorrow,” she said, a smirk dancing on her lips.

I grinned. “Wonderful. Berd, let me know the total for things tonight, would you please?”

“Of course,” he said, grinning far too wide in a way that reminded me of the way Hector had looked at me after I had first spoken to Ava.

“Have a wonderful day, m’lady, and, of course, feel free to explore yourself. It’s a truly beautiful city.”

“Thank you; I think I shall,” Ava said. “Have a good day… Leon.”

I smiled and then headed up to my room, hoping that Berd would explain to her where I went when I didn’t end up coming back down.

I switched out my boots for the more complicated ones, tucked my knives into all their positions, and then did indeed slip out of the window and head for the Central Court at a brisk walk.

The courtyard was already packed. The combination of the war bells ringing upon Aeron’s arrival and now the fairly large procession making their way through town had attracted a decent crowd. I slipped in as best I could, using my relatively small frame to my advantage as I skirted around the edges of the central court, the innermost ring of the city.

The Chantry hovercraft, of which there appeared to only be one, had gone directly over to the Grand Cathedral. There were three prominent figures within it, accompanied by a few servants– the High Inquisitor, obviously, a woman in heavy lava armor with red hair, and a man in simple black clothing. The man drew my attention both because he wasn’t wearing the Chantry symbol anywhere on his person from what I could tell and because he appeared to be a Westerner like me, having the darker skin tone, black hair and dark brown eyes.

Soon my view was blocked, but I was fairly certain I saw the Westerner walk alone into the Grand Cathedral. Where were the other two going?

The Aeron Ambassador was walking, with his retinue, up to the Highlord’s Manor, accompanied by Lord Ennis, and very shortly they, too, were blocked from view as they entered the building, the doors closing behind them.

I thought I saw the High Inquisitor enter with them, but it was difficult for someone of my relatively shorter stature to see over the crowd.

After a moment, I gave up on that and just tried to find Hector.

Over the course of the next several minutes, my goal became easier as the crowd started to disperse, satisfied with the knowledge that it was an Aeron Ambassador and aware that they probably wouldn’t be getting any other information at least for the rest of the day.

Hector’s tall and broad frame became quite easy to mark at that point, and I made my way over to him. “See anything interesting?”

“Did you just get here?” Hector asked, surprised.

“No, but you’re taller than I am,” I answered with a faint sigh.

Hector smirked. “Yeah, I suppose I am, aren’t I?”

“And did you use your freakish height to see anything useful, oh giant one?”

Hector laughed shortly before shaking his head. “Not really. One of the Church people went into the Cathedral, the other two joined the Aeron Ambassador and headed inside. Wasn’t much to see.”

So I had been right in thinking the Inquisitor had gone inside. Great. “Right.”

We stood in silence for a moment.

“Is there anything we can do here?” Hector asked. “Should we just head to work?”

“Maybe,” I conceded, looking at the sky and judging that the Keeper would probably already be irked with us for being late to check in. “There might not be any– door’s opening.”

Hector spun around to face back towards the Highlord’s Manor and, sure enough, the door was opening. Not very wide, but wide enough to allow a messenger to slip through.

He looked a bit nervous and seemed relieved upon catching sight of the two of us, which either meant he was looking for soldiers or for us specifically. I didn’t like the implications of either option.

“Captains Wolfe, Kazeer,” he greeted us, and I ignored the name thing for once.

“That’s us,” Hector said.

“How can we help you?” I asked, even though I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear the answer.

“I’ve been told to request your presence at the negotiations, Captain Kazeer.”

Hector and I exchanged looks.

“Why?” I asked blandly, wondering morbidly if the High Inquisitor wanted to take care of my execution before moving on to other subjects.

“The Aeron Ambassador requested your presence specifically.”

Okay, that was not what I had been expecting. “Why?”

The messenger shrugged helplessly.

I looked at Hector, who also shrugged at me.

“You’re famous.”

“I don’t want to be this kind of famous!”

Hector snorted and patted me on the back. “Sucks to be you. I’m going to go report in for work. Have fun playing politics!”

“I should try and rope you into this with me,” I called after him, smiling as he started casually backing away.

“Nope! Have fun!” An extra meaningful look from the Knight told me that he’d be back in a heartbeat if something went wrong, and I knew he would. Hector was a good friend like that and a good man on top of it.

I sighed and then turned back to the messenger. “Alright then, I guess I’m heading in for negotiations.”

The young man looked relieved, inclining his head to me and then leading me back up to the Highlord’s Manor. The door was cracked open for us to slip inside, and I had to take a moment to adjust to the sudden darkness. I had never seen the Manor this dark, but, then, I’d never been inside this early. I followed him up the spiraling stone staircase, watching my footing a little bit more than normal, and up to the Judgment Hall. Instead of going inside, we headed up another floor instead to the room directly above it– the negotiation room.

The messenger swallowed and then opened the door.

I walked inside.